| Queen's Park |
| Elgin City |
| 3 |
| 3 |
| (Kettlewell, Ferry, Sinclair) |
| (Kaczan, Johnston 2) |
| Certainly the best game seen at Hampden yet this year, Saturday's draw with Elgin keeps Queen's six points ahead of their visitors, and it must stand as a crucial point. A much-disputed goal from Richard Sinclair in the final minute deprived the Northern side of the win they really needed, after probably their best performance against Queen's since they joined the league 6 years ago. Without doubt this is the best Elgin team in that time, and Brian Irvine has emphasised attack and simple football instead of the turgid, dour defence that was their trademark under previous coach David Robertson. Yet had Queen's own defence been less hesitant, the game might well have been won; while Elgin's third goal rounded off a sweet move, their first two were products of highly hesitant defending, with Queen's still incapable of coping with inswinging corner-kicks. That we drew in the end had a great deal to do with the incompetence of the referee; his decision to award a goal to Sinclair was the culmination of a clueless, spineless performance from Mr. McKendrick. Billy Stark made one change to the team that defeated Berwick; the winning goalscorer at Shielfield, Ross Clark, was included at Tony Quinn's expense. Clearly still high after their achievement on Tuesday night, Queen's surged forward during the opening few minutes and went ahead six minutes in. There was an element of fortune to the goal, but Kettlewell's finish was sublime whether he intended it to be or not. As a cross from the left ran towards the edge of the 6-yard area, Kettlewell gathered and hooked the ball over his head and that of the startled keeper Renton, with the ball looping in at the far corner. Within a minute Queen's should have been 2 in front but David Weatherston sadly chose to dive as he approached the goalkeeper on a clean run through, instead of flying past him as he could have done. McKendrick may have wrong to award a free-kick, but having done so he was also obliged to book the goalkeeper. He failed to do so, in the kind of compromise decision beloved of so many referees. Nothing came of the free-kick. Another chance for Queen's fell to Mark Ferry, but the midfielder couldn't end his recent dry spell in front of goal and struck a volley over. Elgin's first chance came just after, when David Crawford continued to be hesitant when faced with a high ball, and Cumming came in only to knock the ball high from a good position. It had been an entertaining game, and Queen's looked to be in command. But we came undone in the 32nd minute and conceded a needless goal. Nelson's delivery from a corner was dangerous, but the ball travelled to a good position for Crawford to come and collect. He didn't, panic spread, and Kaczan was able to get a touch on the ball, with his shot coming off a defender, then the desperate left leg of Crawford, before entering the net. David Weatherston again found himself one-on-one with the keeper in the 38th minute, but this time wisely stayed on his feet and charged past Renton. From a tight angle, his shot came off the back of the keeper as he scurried back to his line. Before half-time, Martin Johnston would have two attempts for Elgin, the first of which he should have scored with; when in space in the area, he turned and rolled a shot pathetically wide. Queen's began the second half in similar fashion to the first, and Weatherston almost created an opportunity with his searing pace in the 47th minute; however, the lack of a true predator in the side was evident as no-one was hovering to get on the end of his cross. Three minutes later though, and our top scorer at last had another goal to his name. Mark Ferry has been average recently but his strike from 20 yards, after receiving Kettlewell's clever pass, was a rasper and the ball flew into the net. Surely Queen's were now in a strong position to build a victory. Yet unexpectedly, perversely even, it was Elgin who'd be in front within just 7 minutes. Firstly, just a minute after Ferry's wonderful strike, an Elgin player found himself unmarked on the edge of the 6-yard area, and squared the ball right to Martin Johnston who tapped home. Defending of the suicidal variety. Then in the 57th minute, a smart move from the visitors ended with Johnston smacking the ball first-time and low into the left-hand corner of Crawford's goal. For the rest of the game an Elgin win seemed the likeliest outcome as Queen's struggled to make much impression again. On the hour mark, a Kettlewell daisy-cutter flashed just wide, but not really until two minutes from the end would we again come close. Then, another speedy chase from Weatherston saw him slip the ball through to Kettlewell on the right of the area, and his low cross-shot squeezed agonisingly past the far post as substitute Felvus raced in just a little too late. That wouldn't turn out to be our last chance. As the game entered its final minute, the referee had one final say to change the course of events, after a game where he had infuriated both sides with his lack of control. He had got in the way of play, failed to book Elgin players (particularly Johnston and McKenzie) despite their committal of several fouls, failed to spot a stonewall handball by Mick Dunlop not far from the Queen's box, and told Elgin to make a substitution they didn't want to make (leading to the farcical scene of Cumming being physically pushed off the pitch by a frustrated Mark Ferry, only to be pushed back on again by his own manager!) Now, he awarded Queen's a goal after Richard Sinclair's shot, from Paul Harvey's free-kick and Reilly's knockdown, was headed off the line by McKenzie. At least it seemed to have been headed off the line, but Mr. McKendrick was convinced that the ball had crossed it and immediately raced upfield, finger outstretched, not even consulting a linesman. Queen's Park were jubilant as for the second time this season a disputed goal against Elgin was allowed to stand. The referee had ensured that the traditional chorus of boos for him from the home fans at the end was far more muted than normal, given that he'd made the kind of decision you'd sooner expect from a game refereed by John McCormack than John McKendrick. He'd also decided to get the hell out as quickly as he could, calling time less than a minute into stoppage time when at least 3 minutes should have been added. Still, for all the rights and wrongs, Queen's had grabbed a crucial point, and for all their flaws are well-placed with now just 9 games to go. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Paul Paton, Mick Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Richard Sinclair, Alan Trouten (Tommy Murray 63), Stuart Kettlewell, Ross Clark (Bryan Felvus 83), David Weatherston, Paul Harvey, Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Tony Quinn, Jonny Whelan, Mark Cairns. Goals: Kettlewell 6, Ferry 50, Sinclair 90. Elgin City: Keiron Renton, Paul Kaczan, Jamie McKenzie, Stewart Easton, Hugh Dickson, David Hind, Chris Gardiner (Alan Muir 75), Stuart Cumming (Fraser Bremner 88), Martin Johnston, Adam Nelson, Martin Lauchlan. Substitutes not used: Trialist, Mark Booth, Shewan. Booked: McKenzie. Goals: Kaczan 32, Johnston 51, 57. Referee: John McKendrick. Attendance: 465. |